Benson and Olson garner ECAC track and field accolades

April 16, 2003

NORTON, MA- Wheaton College men's outdoor track and field standouts Erik Benson (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) and Dan Olson (Voorheesville, NY/Albany Academy) garnered Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Track and Field Athlete-of-the-Week accolades for the week ending on Sunday, April 13. Benson, a Co-Track Athlete-of-the-Week selection and Olson, the Field Athlete of the Week, each won this award twice during the indoor track and field season.

Benson, a junior sprinter for the Lyons, placed in two events at the Brown Invitational held at Brown Stadium on Saturday. He captured the 400-meter dash with an NCAA Division III national meet provisional qualifying time of 48.48. He also placed seventh overall in the 200M event with a time of 22.82. This time qualifies Benson for the ECAC Championship.

Olson, a sophomore jumper with Wheaton, was impressive to say the least at Brown, as he cleared a height of 7' 1" in the high jump event, a mark good enough for an NCAA Division III national meet automatic qualifying standard. Olson took top honors at a meet that featured seven Division I schools and one Division II squad.

As a team, the Lyons placed ninth overall in the nine-team meet with 22 total points. Wheaton will next travel to the Solomon Invitational in Dedham, Massachusetts on Saturday, April 19. Meet time is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m.

Last updated on 4/19/03.
Send questions about this page to Scott Dietz or contact Wheaton College.

News Headlines

Five Wheaton tracksters, both programs earn national academic accolades (more)

Weekly Lyon Update: Men's and Women's Track & Field (more)

Eight women earn All-America honors, Wheaton takes 23rd at NCAAs (more)